Robert Motley

Why?: Stories and Poems Robert Motley First edition

Short stories and poems by Robert Motley, who grew up in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania stories: a traumatic first day at school, a temperance tale by a loving elderly aunt, the death of the author's father in a bootleg coal mine, a beloved, retarded man who fantasized that he was a relief pitcher for the Yankees, a man who took his stepchildren to an orphanage. Other stories: an aborted affair between an expatriate Irish woman and her former fiancee, a CEO's desperate efforts to save her failing internet company, a man's fantasies triggered by his appearance in a student film, a fiftieth high school reunion where everyone is a stranger.